Elves
The Elves are the first and oldest of races, and are considered to be the fairest and wisest race of them all. Characteristics The Elves are the fairest creatures in Merrimor, a far more beautiful race than Humans, and generally tall (about six feet). Elves have keener senses, sight and hearing than humans, are slender, graceful yet strong, and are resistant to extremes of nature, illness and disease. Practical considerations, including a number of occasions where Humans were mistaken for Elves, suggest that the points of difference between Elves and Men, can be subtle. Elvish ears have been described as being more pointed and leaf-shaped than Humans. Elven hair colour is quite varied and complex. In general, they have golden-hair, while some other Elves have dark (brown) or even in rare cases have black hair. Elven eyes, tend to be grey or blue, but only in some rare cases are brown. The Elves are like gods in spirit; they love all beauty of nature, especially water, the Sea and the stars, since they are the first things they saw. They are marked for an insatiable curiosity and desire of learning and creating. They detest all evil and are usually more resistant to be corrupted than Humans, unless evil tricked them with fair form. They are, however, succeptible to greed, pride and jealousy. Elves do not sleep but instead rest their minds with beautiful thoughts in reverie or looking at fair things. Also, unlike the majority of Humans, Elves are ambidextrous. Although Elves are generally considered very powerful, there are accounts that some Humans are physically stronger, though less agile. Unlike Humans, they live for a very long time (up to and a little over 1000 years old). they are considered to have reached maturity when they read the age of 150. They are also immune to any disease, however they can be killed by physical injury however, or they may come to death from wasting away if after long years of life they lose the will to live. They also have skills and abilities beyond what is possible for humans, and many can craft seemingly magical objects. Elves are very very light of foot, can travel long distances without leaving tracks, and often can walk lightly across snow where the boots of Men would sink. They are also incredible fast and probably the most agile beings in all of Merrimor. Life Cycle Owing to their longevity, Elves have a very different Life cycle than Humans. Early life Elves are born about one year from their conception. The day of their conception is celebrated, not the actual birthday itself—since for them, life begins at conception. Their minds develop quicker than their bodies; by their first year, they can speak, walk and even dance, and their quicker onset of mental maturity makes young Elves seem older than they actually are. Physical puberty comes in around their 30th to 50th year (by age fifty they reach their adult height), and by their 150th year of life outside the womb all Elves are "fully grown". Elves' bodies develop slower than those of Humans from the start. In their twenties, they might still appear physically as a young child, whereas Humans at the same age are physically mature. Sexuality, marriage and parenthood Elves marry freely and for love early in life. Monogamy is practiced and adultery is unthinkable; they only marry once. Spouses can choose each other long before they are married and be betrothed. The betrothal is subject to parental approval unless the parties are of age and intend to marry soon, at which point the betrothal is announced at a meeting of the two houses, during which the couple exchange rings. The betrothal lasts at least a year, and is revocable by the return of the rings (but is rarely broken). After their formal betrothal, the couple appoints a time for the wedding when at least a year has passed. Marriage is celebrated at a feast of the two houses. The spouses return their betrothal rings and receive others worn on their index fingers. The bride’s mother gives the groom a jewel to be worn, but the marriage is only achieved with its consummation. Technically, only the words exchanged by the bride and groom and the consummation are required for marriage. The Elves view the sexual act as extremely special and intimate, for it leads to the conception and birth of children. Extra-marital and premarital sex are unthinkable—indeed, the Elves would regard them as contradictions in terms. Because adultery is also unheard of and fidelity between spouses is absolute, spouses can sometimes live separately for extended periods of time. However, a sundering during pregnancy or during the early years of parenthood (caused by war, for example) is so grievous to the couple that they prefer to have children in peaceful times. Elves have few children, as a rule, and there are relatively sizable intervals between each child. They are soon preoccupied with other pleasures; their libido wanes and they focus their interests elsewhere, such as the arts. Nonetheless, they take great delight in the union of love, and they cherish the days of bearing and raising children as the happiest times of their lives. Daily life The Elves, preoccupy themselves with various things, such as smithwork, sculpture, music, and other arts. Males and females can do almost everything equally; however, the females often specialize in the arts of healing while the men go to war. This is because the Elves believe that taking life interferes with the ability to preserve life. However, Elves do not have rigid gender roles; females can defend themselves at need as well as males, and many males are skilled healers as well. Aging Elves had no beards. Elves did not physically age over their 300th year but they did age in a different sense than Humans: they became ever more weary of the world and burdened by its sorrows, sometimes appeared to age under great stress. Death Elves are immune to all diseases, and they can recover from wounds which would normally kill a mortal Humans. However, Elves can be slain, or die of grief and weariness. Weapons and Armour See Elven Weapons and Armour Elven soldiers usually used bows as their weapon of choice because they were master crafters of them and were the best at handling them. But in addition to bows they used short swords, shields, and even spears. As for armor, Elven armor was a beauty to wear being of the up most quality and was pear perfect in design. Arts, Crafts, Powers and Magic Other races often spoke of 'Elf magic', or of objects made by Elves as if they contained enchantments. It is unclear how accurate it is to call Elvish arts and crafts 'magic' or 'enchanted'. Elves themselves only used these words when attempting to simplify or clarify how elvish-made things seemed to have a special quality that no other races were able to achieve. Powerful Elves seemed to have control over nature and the elements, their clothes seemed to shine with their own light, their blades seemed to never lose their sharpness. Less educated folks couldn't explain these effects, so they simply called them 'magic'.